Kimchi refrigerator

ABSTRACT

A kimchi refrigerator includes an evaporator surrounding a storage chamber in contact with an outer surface of the storage chamber; a basket received in the storage chamber to receive at least one container storing kimchi, and taken in and out of the storage chamber according to the opening and closing operation of the door; and an auxiliary cooling member surface-contacting a front outer surface of the basket, which is adjacent to the evaporator. The auxiliary cooling member is made of a high thermal-conductivity material so that high inner temperature of the storage chamber is efficiently transferred, accordingly reducing the temperature deviation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2009-0080107, filed on Aug. 27, 2009 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Embodiments relate to a kimchi refrigerator having a drawer-type opening and closing system, capable of reducing a deviation of the inner temperature thereof.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, a refrigerator refers to an apparatus having a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve and an evaporator and thereby preserving freshness of various food through heat transfer achieved by state change of refrigerant.

Recently, a kimchi refrigerator has been developed to mature and freshly store kimchi using the above principle of the refrigerator. The kimchi refrigerator matures kimchi to a proper degree according to seasons and users' taste and then maintains a predetermined temperature so that the properly matured taste of kimchi can be maintained for a long time.

The kimchi refrigerator adopts a direct cooling system that uses natural convection achieved by the evaporator. However, according to the direct cooling system using the natural convection, a temperature deviation may be caused between an upper part and a lower part of a storage chamber of the refrigerator.

Whereas a general refrigerator has a door opened and closed in a lateral direction, the kimchi refrigerator, having a relatively small size, historically has a door hinged on an upper part of a main body and opened and closed in an up and down direction. However, kimchi refrigerators having drawer-type storage chambers are becoming increasingly popular.

The kimchi refrigerator having a drawer-type storage chamber is opened at a front part of the storage chamber, which is adjacent to the door. Therefore, loss of cool air occurs mostly at the front part.

Thus, in the conventional kimchi refrigerator using natural convection of the evaporator and having the drawer-type storage chamber, a considerable temperature deviation is induced between the upper and lower front parts of the storage chamber.

SUMMARY

Therefore, it is an aspect to provide a kimchi refrigerator capable of reducing a temperature deviation between upper and lower front parts of a storage chamber thereof.

Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

The foregoing and/or other aspects of are achieved by providing a kimchi refrigerator including a storage chamber having an opening at a front thereof; a door opening and closing the storage chamber; an evaporator surrounding the storage chamber in contact with an outer surface of the storage chamber; a basket received in the storage chamber to receive at least one container storing kimchi, and taken in and out of the storage chamber according to the opening and closing operation of the door; and an auxiliary cooling member contacting a surface of a front outer surface of the basket, which is adjacent to the evaporator.

The evaporator may be disposed to contact with outer surfaces of both sides and a bottom side of the storage chamber. The auxiliary cooling member may surface-contact both sides and a bottom side of the basket. The auxiliary cooling member is formed of a high thermal-conductivity material.

The kimchi refrigerator may further include a mounting member mounted to a rear surface of the door, and the basket may be removably mounted to the mounting member.

The kimchi refrigerator may further include moving rails mounted on both sides of the mounting member; and fixed rails formed on both sides of the storage chamber for sliding engagement with the moving rails.

The basket may be formed of plastic, and a bending prevention member may be connected to a bottom side of the basket to prevent bending of the basket.

The foregoing and/or other aspects may be achieved by providing a kimchi refrigerator including an outer case; an inner case disposed in the outer case to form at least one storage chamber having an opening at a front thereof; a basket received in the storage chamber to receive at least one container; an evaporator mounted in contact with an outer surface of the inner case to cool the storage chamber; and an auxiliary cooling member contacting an outer surface of the basket, which is adjacent to the evaporator.

The evaporator may be disposed at both sides and a bottom side of the inner case.

The auxiliary cooling member may be disposed at both sides and a bottom side of the basket. The auxiliary cooling member may be made of a high thermal-conductivity material.

The kimchi refrigerator may further include a door opening and closing the front of the storage chamber; and a mounting member mounted to a rear surface of the door, wherein the basket is removably mounted to the mounting member.

The kimchi refrigerator may further include moving rails mounted on both sides of the mounting member; and fixed rails formed on both sides of the storage chamber for sliding engagement with the moving rails.

The auxiliary cooling member may be disposed at a front part of the basket.

The basket may be made of plastic, and a bending prevention member may be connected at a bottom side of the basket to prevent bending of the basket.

The foregoing and/or other aspects are also achieved by providing a kimchi refrigerator including an outer case; an inner case disposed in the outer case to form at least one storage chamber having an opening at a front thereof; a door opening and closing the storage chamber; a basket received in the storage chamber to receive at least one container, and taken in and out of the storage chamber according to the opening and closing operation of the door; an evaporator mounted in contact with an outer surface of the inner case to cool the storage chamber; an auxiliary cooling member contacting an outer surface of the basket, which is adjacent to the evaporator; and a bending prevention member connected to a bottom of the basket to prevent bending of the basket.

The auxiliary cooling member may be made of a high thermal-conductivity material and disposed at a front part of the basket.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a kimchi refrigerator according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a partially exploded perspective view of a door of a storage chamber according to the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of a basket connected with an auxiliary cooling member of the kimchi refrigerator shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the refrigerator of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a kimchi refrigerator according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a part of a storage chamber door. FIG. 3 is a bottom view of a basket connected with an auxiliary cooling member of the kimchi refrigerator shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the refrigerator of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 1 to FIG. 4, the kimchi refrigerator includes a main body 10 having at least one storage chamber 20, and a door 25 to open and close the storage chamber 25.

The main body 10 includes an outer case 11 forming the exterior appearance thereof, an inner case 13 mounted in the outer case 11 to form the at least one storage chamber 20, and a machine chamber (not shown) receiving various mechanical parts.

As aforementioned, the outer case forms the exterior appearance. An operation panel (not shown) may be formed at one side of the outer case 11, to select conditions such as maturing time, temperature and type of food to be stored in the storage chamber 20.

At least one storage chamber 20 is formed in the inner case 13. A basket 30 is provided in the storage chamber 20 to receive containers 40 storing food such as kimchi therein.

The storage chamber 20 may include a first storage chamber 20 a mounted with a door 25 a opened and closed in a lateral direction, and second and third storage chambers 20 b and 20 c disposed under the first storage chamber 20 a and respectively mounted with doors 25 b and 25 c which are opened and closed like a drawer. The kimchi refrigerator according to the embodiments may include one storage chamber 20 having the drawer-type door 25, or a plurality of the storage chambers.

The machine chamber receives parts including a compressor (not shown) compressing refrigerant, and a condenser (not shown) condensing the refrigerant supplied from the compressor. The machine chamber is partitioned from the storage chamber 20.

In addition, a foam 15 such as foamed urethane is stuffed in a space between the outer case 11 and the inner case 13 for heat insulation.

An evaporator 50, in which refrigerant flows to maintain a low inner temperature of the storage chamber 20, is mounted in the space filled with the foam material 15. As shown in the drawing, the evaporator 50 takes the form of a general refrigerant pipe. In case of the storage chamber 20 having the drawer-type doors 25 b and 25 c, the evaporator 50 is mounted to surround both lateral sides and a bottom side of the drawer-type storage chambers 20 b and 20 c. That is, the evaporator 50 having the refrigerant pipe form is mounted in contact with an inner wall of the inner case 13 so as to surround both sides and the bottom side of the storage chambers 20 b and 20 c.

Cold air transferred from the evaporator 50 to both sides and the bottom side of the storage chambers 20 b and 20 c is supplied through natural convection of inner air of the storage chambers 20 b and 20 c. In other words, the air cooled by heat exchange at the evaporator 50 moves down while warm air moves up. The temperature of the storage chambers 20 b and 20 c is decreased through such air convection.

A heater (not shown) using electric heating wires may be mounted between the outer case 11 and the inner case 13 to heat the inside of the storage chamber 20, so as to mature the stored kimchi by maintaining a predetermined temperature proper for maturing thereof.

In addition, a mounting member 60 is mounted at a rear surface of the drawer-type doors 25 b and 25 c. The basket 30 is removably connected to the mounting member 60.

The basket 30 may be made of plastic in the form of a cabinet having an opened upper side. As aforementioned, the basket 30 holds a storage space to receive containers 40 storing food such as kimchi.

Flanges 31 are integrally extended outward from both upper ends of the basket 30 so as to be removably mounted to the mounting member 60.

Additionally, a bending prevention member 80 is mounted at a bottom side of the basket 30 so that the basket 30, which is made of plastic, is not bent due to repeated thermal expansion and contraction. The bending prevention member 80 may be mounted in a lateral direction at the bottom side of the basket 30.

Moving rails 61 are mounted at both sides of the mounting member 60 in a longitudinal direction so that the doors 25 b and 25 c are moved in a drawer system, thereby opening and closing the storage chambers 20 b and 20 c.

Also, fixed rails 63 are formed on both sides of the inner case 13 for slidable engagement with the moving rails 61 of the mounting member 60. Specifically, the fixed rails 63 are mounted in a longitudinal direction on the inner wall of the inner case 13.

Therefore, the basket 30 mounted to the mounting member 60 may be moved forward and backward according to the sliding movement of the moving rails 61 engaged with the fixed rails 63. Accordingly, the user is able to put in and take out food stored in the containers 40 with respect to the basket 30.

In the basket 30 disposed in the drawer-type storage chambers 20 b and 20 c, a temperature deviation occurs between an upper part and a lower part of the storage chamber 20 by the natural convection by the evaporator 50 during the operation of the kimchi refrigerator. Especially, the temperature deviation is greater between upper and lower front parts of the storage chambers 20 b and 20 c, the front parts adjacent to the doors 25 b and 25 c.

To this end, an auxiliary cooling member 70 is provided to reduce the deviation of the inner temperature of the basket 30.

The auxiliary cooling member 70 may be formed of a high thermal-conductivity material including metal such as iron and aluminum, alloys, resins and the like. According to an exemplary embodiment, an aluminum plate may be used as the auxiliary cooling member 70.

The auxiliary cooling member 70 made of the high thermal-conductivity material is disposed adjacent to the evaporator 50 contacting both sides and the bottom side of each of the storage chambers 20 b and 20 c. Here, the auxiliary cooling member 70 is brought into surface-contact with both outer sides and the bottom side of the basket 30 at the front area of the basket 30.

That is, high temperature at the upper front part in the basket 30 is transferred to the lower front part in the basket 30. Specifically, the high temperature of the upper front part inside the basket 30 is transferred to the auxiliary cooling member 70 having a low temperature and being disposed adjacent to the evaporator 50, through an upper end of the auxiliary cooling member 70. Accordingly, the temperature deviation between the upper and the lower front parts of the basket 30 may be reduced.

Meanwhile, both sides and the bottom side of the basket 30 may be frozen by the cold air from the evaporator 50 since these elements are adjacent to the evaporator 50. However, such freezing may be prevented by the high temperature of the upper front part of the basket 30 transferred through the auxiliary cooling member 70.

As described above, a kimchi refrigerator according to the embodiments may reduce the temperature deviation between upper and lower front parts of a storage chamber, by using an auxiliary cooling member.

Although a few embodiments have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the embodiments, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A kimchi refrigerator comprising: a storage chamber having an opening at a front thereof; a door opening and closing the storage chamber; an evaporator surrounding the storage chamber in contact with an outer surface of the storage chamber; a basket received in the storage chamber to receive at least one container storing kimchi, and taken in and out of the storage chamber according to the opening and closing operation of the door; and an auxiliary cooling member contacting a surface of a front outer surface of the basket, which is adjacent to the evaporator.
 2. The kimchi refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the evaporator contacts outer surfaces of a side and a bottom of the storage chamber.
 3. The kimchi refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the auxiliary cooling member contacts surfaces of a side and a bottom of the basket.
 4. The kimchi refrigerator according to claim 3, wherein the auxiliary cooling member is formed of a high thermal-conductivity material.
 5. The kimchi refrigerator according to claim 4, further comprising a mounting member mounted to a rear surface of the door, wherein the basket is removably mounted to the mounting member.
 6. The kimchi refrigerator according to claim 5, further comprising: a plurality of moving rails mounted on sides of the mounting member; and a plurality of fixed rails formed on sides of the storage chamber to engage and slide with the moving rails.
 7. The kimchi refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the basket is formed of plastic, and further comprising a bending prevention member connected to a bottom of the basket to prevent bending of the basket.
 8. A kimchi refrigerator comprising: an outer case; an inner case disposed in the outer case to form at least one storage chamber having an opening at a front thereof; a basket received in the storage chamber to receive at least one container; an evaporator mounted in contact with an outer surface of the inner case to cool the storage chamber; and an auxiliary cooling member contacting an outer surface of the basket, which is adjacent to the evaporator.
 9. The kimchi refrigerator according to claim 8, wherein the evaporator is disposed at a side and a bottom of the inner case.
 10. The kimchi refrigerator according to claim 9, wherein the auxiliary cooling member is disposed at a side and a bottom of the basket.
 11. The kimchi refrigerator according to claim 10, wherein the auxiliary cooling member is made of a high thermal-conductivity material.
 12. The kimchi refrigerator according to claim 8, further comprising: a door opening and closing the front of the storage chamber; and a mounting member mounted to a rear surface of the door, wherein the basket is removably mounted to the mounting member.
 13. The kimchi refrigerator according to claim 12, further comprising: a plurality of moving rails mounted on sides of the mounting member; and a plurality of fixed rails formed on sides of the storage chamber to engage and slide with the moving rails.
 14. The kimchi refrigerator according to claim 12, wherein the auxiliary cooling member is disposed at a front part of the basket.
 15. The kimchi refrigerator according to claim 8, wherein the basket is made of plastic, and further comprising a bending prevention member connected at a bottom of the basket to prevent bending of the basket.
 16. A kimchi refrigerator comprising: an outer case; an inner case disposed in the outer case to form at least one storage chamber having an opening at a front thereof; a door opening and closing the storage chamber; a basket received in the storage chamber to receive at least one container, and taken in and out of the storage chamber according to the opening and closing operation of the door; an evaporator mounted in contact with an outer surface of the inner case to cool the storage chamber; an auxiliary cooling member contacting an outer surface of the basket, which is adjacent to the evaporator; and a bending prevention member connected to a bottom of the basket to prevent bending of the basket.
 17. The kimchi refrigerator according to claim 16, wherein the auxiliary cooling member is made of a high thermal-conductivity material and disposed at a front of the basket.
 18. A refrigerator comprising: a storage chamber comprising a bottom, and first and second sides; and an auxiliary cooling member comprising a thermally conductive material contacting the first and second sides and the bottom of the storage chamber. 